How many chickens?

[Brooks_]

i live in alabama

our coop is about 80 square feet they free ranger during the day

Favorable climate. Roost, nest, ventilation will mostly determine your limit.

 

[Chuckin]

If it’s a cool then you could fit 20 max if you follow the rule of thumb of 4 square feet per bird coop space.

what qualifies as a coop? it had hardware cloth around it and a roof and straw on the ground and roosting bars then it had a wooden box coop thats 24sqft but they never go in there unless theyre sleeping and then they just roost on the bars in there

 

[Chuckin]

Favorable climate. Roost, nest, ventilation will mostly determine your limit.

what do you mean by roost nest and ventilation?

 

[Brooks_]

what do you mean by roost nest and ventilation?

Roost space, nest space, and amount of ventilation.

 

[rosemarythyme]

what qualifies as a coop? it had hardware cloth around it and a roof and straw on the ground and roosting bars then it had a wooden box coop thats 24sqft but they never go in there unless theyre sleeping and then they just roost on the bars in there

Just to clarify, this thread shows the set up: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/20-chickens.1593907/ These should've been a single thread, this is why you're getting conflicing responses.

The "box" IS the coop. The run is the run. You free range so your run space is not the limiting factor. I would not have more than 6 chickens in your coop (going strictly by the one photo we see*) and you're close to double that.

* I can't see the ventilation on the coop since we only have the 1 angle so the ventilation might be the biggest issue here, unless the other sides of the coop are completely open into the run, in which case then the entire set up would be considered open air. In a true open air set up yes you could fit more birds as long as they can continue free ranging full time.

 

[igorsMistress]

what qualifies as a coop? it had hardware cloth around it and a roof and straw on the ground and roosting bars then it had a wooden box coop thats 24sqft but they never go in there unless theyre sleeping and then they just roost on the bars in there

That depends on where you’re located. If your climate is temperate enough that it works as a coop then so be it. Most folks feel a coop is akin to a house, a roof and four solid walls, three solid walls and an open front covered in HWC also works. Really, most of the year all my chickens need is a safe place ti sleep and would do fine in your run, but I live in the desert so they really just need protection from gulley washers and the cold winds in winter. I know other chicken folks in my area that have just a solid roof and HWC walls that they tarp over in winter when it’s really cold.

You could very easily add walls to your run to make a great coop.’it just depends on what is really needed in your climate.

 

[Chuckin]

Just to clarify, this thread shows the set up: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/20-chickens.1593907/ These should've been a single thread, this is why you're getting conflicing responses.

The "box" IS the coop. The run is the run. You free range so your run space is not the limiting factor. I would not have more than 6 chickens in your coop (going strictly by the one photo we see*) and you're close to double that.

* I can't see the ventilation on the coop since we only have the 1 angle so the ventilation might be the biggest issue here, unless the other sides of the coop are completely open into the run, in which case then the entire set up would be considered open air. In a true open air set up yes you could fit more birds as long as they can continue free ranging full time.

hm, as of now my chickens are very happy in the coop and dont seem to have any problems. probably cause they only go in there to sleep.

 

[Chuckin]

hm, as of now my chickens are very happy in the coop and dont seem to have any problems. probably cause they only go in there to sleep.

what is an opens air? the other side can completely open up like one big door that i could leave open if necessary

 

[Chuckin]

That depends on where you’re located. If your climate is temperate enough that it works as a coop then so be it. Most folks feel a coop is akin to a house, a roof and four solid walls, three solid walls and an open front covered in HWC also works. Really, most of the year all my chickens need is a safe place ti sleep and would do fine in your run, but I live in the desert so they really just need protection from gulley washers and the cold winds in winter. I know other chicken folks in my area that have just a solid roof and HWC walls that they tarp over in winter when it’s really cold.

You could very easily add walls to your run to make a great coop.’it just depends on what is really needed in your climate.

i live in alabama, so its warm all year until winter when it can get down to 20’s occasionally. maybe i could just put a heater and tarp in there. another idea i had was ‘adding on the the coop’ by putting a wooden dog house in the ‘run’ part.

 

[Chuckin]

That depends on where you’re located. If your climate is temperate enough that it works as a coop then so be it. Most folks feel a coop is akin to a house, a roof and four solid walls, three solid walls and an open front covered in HWC also works. Really, most of the year all my chickens need is a safe place ti sleep and would do fine in your run, but I live in the desert so they really just need protection from gulley washers and the cold winds in winter. I know other chicken folks in my area that have just a solid roof and HWC walls that they tarp over in winter when it’s really cold.

You could very easily add walls to your run to make a great coop.’it just depends on what is really needed in your climate.

also i was incorrect, my main coop box is 5x8 feet